


3 times Maia teaches Lily how to be human

by scalira



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 18:18:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9778679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scalira/pseuds/scalira
Summary: + the one time Lily teaches Maia how to be a Downworlder.





	

 

1.

Vampires and werewolves never used to get along before Simon. Before Simon, they _tolerated_ each other at best. They mostly stayed out of each other’s way, didn’t cross each other’s territory and generally ignored each other’s existence until they had an inevitable fallout every few years that usually resulted in the Shadowhunters being sent to break them up.

That was before Simon got Turned. Simon, who had always been like a son to the alpha of the New York pack. Simon, who was unaware of the natural hostility between their two species, who ignored his own ancient instincts telling him to stay away from werewolves. Lily sees why Raphael made him his personal advisor. He had always talked about wanting to form an alliance with the werewolves, about getting on friendlier terms with them. He just never quite knew how to do it.

Simon knows, though. And it doesn’t involve a well-worded plan or a political move or contracts of any sort. It just involves kindness and charm and a sympathetic understanding of the werewolves.

After a few months, the werewolves and vampires have formed an unlikely friendship with each other. Raphael walks around the hotel with pride now, having a boyfriend who united two species like that. And Simon just grins whenever a vamp or werewolf comes to him to thank him for what he did.

The vampires and werewolves gain strength now that they have stopped putting their energy in fighting each other, and they’re a force to be reckoned with in the Downworld. Many start seeing them as a threat, which means they have to be even more cautious on the streets than before.

It’s Lily’s own damn fault. She wasn’t paying attention, was too caught up in Maia’s animated gestures as she told a story about her childhood. Lily finds herself getting lost in Maia’s words, in her big smile and bright eyes. She could listen to her forever, and she knows how long eternity can be.

She’s so busy enjoying Maia’s soft voice she doesn’t hear the Warlock coming before it’s too late.

Iris is a corrupted, low Warlock. She became greedy and bitter, much like Camille once did. She was so obsessed with creating more and stronger Warlocks she lost sight of remaining a good person while doing so.

As soon as Iris raises her hands, Lily knows something is wrong. The Warlock looks dangerously detached, as if she’s about to kill some flies, eyes dazed and magic swirling around her fingers.

Lily knows she’s going to kill Maia. She can tell by her body language, the way her eyes flicker to Maia’s form for just a millisecond. She doesn’t know why Iris chose to kill Maia instead of her, but it doesn’t matter. She won’t let it happen.

Maia gets into a crouching position, bones cracking dangerously. Lily puts a comforting hand on her shoulder to stop her from shifting and lets her fangs drop, hissing warningly at Iris. The Warlock doesn’t seem impressed.

“Time to take care of the vermin,” she says coolly, voice flat.

Lily scoffs. “Vermin? You sound just like the Nephilim.”

Iris snaps her gaze to her, and immediately Lily feels her instincts kicking in. Something’s wrong. Iris is a wicked Warlock, fallen out of grace and exiled, but not even the most corrupt Warlock would look like that. Her face is twisted, like a shadow cast over it, and her eyes are surrounded by black veins.

Someone is controlling her.

“Iris,” Lily says slowly, retracting her fangs, “Iris, listen to me. You’re not yourself, you hear me? You wouldn’t call Downworlders vermin. Someone is controlling you.”

Iris tilts her head. She looks dangerous like that, as if looking for an opening so she can attack.

“Nobody is controlling me,” she says, an icy smile on her lips. “I’m doing this purely because I want to.”

“You can’t just kill Downworlders. There will be consequences.”

“Consequences?” Iris asks, amused. “The Nephilim don’t care about you. They never did and never will. They won’t lose sleep over a Downworlder or two less.”

“But other Downworlders will. Raphael, Luke. Magnus.”

Iris’ expression sours. “ _Magnus_? Do you think I’m scared of him? I was a powerful Warlock long before he was even born. He wouldn’t stand a chance. And the others – ” she shrugs “ – guess I’ll just have to kill them too.” And with that, she raises her hands above her hands, calls upon even more magic and thrusts her hands forward, as if pushing an invisible wall.

Magic travels fast, but vampires are still faster. Lily realizes where Iris aimed her magic at, and she jumps in front of Maia before it can hit her.

It isn’t the first time that Lily gets struck by magic. Magnus used to restrain her with his own dark, sparkling swirls when she had just been Turned, but he never hurt her with it. Not really.

This magic, however, feels like she’s burning. Like pure, unfiltered sunlight beating down on her. Lily hears herself gasp, then scream. Feels herself sink to her knees, the hard asphalt underneath her skin. She can’t move, can’t say anything. The magic consumes everything, burns away all her sanity, her willpower. Her fingers cramp, then spasm, desperately searching for something to hold on to, to pull her back.

Her vision blurs. All the noise around her fades. Lily tries to focus on Maia’s rapid heartbeat, her voice calling out her name, but the pain is _everywhere_. Consuming her from the inside. She can’t speak, can’t move, can’t _think_.

It’s all so much, so bright, so painful.

And then, finally, _finally_ , when Lily feels as if she’ll go insane, the world turns dark around her.

*

The first thing Lily realizes when she wakes up is that she’s breathing.

Which isn’t something she usually does.

It takes all vampires a while to realize they don’t need to breathe anymore. Some continue to do it out of habit or to look as normal as they can, but Lily stopped doing it decades ago. That’s why it’s weird to notice her chest is rising and falling, to hear her own breathing in her ears.

The second thing she notices is how… little she notices. She can hear soft mumbling coming from outside her room, but she can’t distinguish any voices or words. Normally, no walls should be able to restrict her hearing. Her vision also seems to be less sharp, even bordering _blurry_. What the fuck? Vampires don’t have bad eyesight.

She pushes herself up on her elbows until she’s sitting up straight and looks around the room. It doesn’t look familiar, but if the excessive drapes are anything to go by, she must be at Magnus’ loft.

She tries to remember what happened. Her memory is a bit hazy, but she remembers being attacked by Iris. She remembers the burning magic. And she remembers Maia calling her name.

Maia.

Did she make it? Is she safe? Lily frantically looks around the room as if Maia might be hiding somewhere, and when she can’t find her, she throws back her covers and stumbles to the door.

She falls into the hallway as soon as she jerks open the door, her legs seemingly too weak to carry her. Raphael’s arms shoot up out of nowhere, catching her before she can fall to the ground.

“Lily,” he says, sounding worried. He feels cold against her.

Lily grabs onto Raphael’s arms to pull herself onto her feet and looks at him.

“What happened?” She questions. “Where’s Maia? Is she alive? Is she safe? We were attacked and I – I – ”

“Maia is safe,” Raphael assures her. “She brought you here and she’s waiting in the living room.”

“I need to see her,” Lily says, already pushing past Raphael. He doesn’t budge.

“We need to talk first,” he says.

“Talk? About what, the weather? I’m fine, Raphael. Really. I healed.”

“No, Lily. Magnus healed you. You weren’t healing on your own.”

Lily frowns. “What? Why not?”

Raphael scans her face, eyes as dark and soft as always, and sighs.

“Why don’t you sit down for a second, okay?” He suggests, gently guiding her back into the room. Lily feels suspicion rising in the pit of her stomach, but she sits down and waits for Raphael to explain.

Raphael takes a seat on a chair at the end of her bed, intertwining his fingers in his lap.

“Lily,” he starts.

“Raphael,” Lily says, mocking his serious tone. She never liked Raphael getting serious with her. Somehow, it was never a believable act. She knew him too well to take him seriously when he tried to be all stoic like this.

Raphael chews his lip, taking in his friend.

“Lily,” he says again, “what do you hear?”

“What do I hear?”

“Yeah.”

“Uh. I hear you talking. I hear my breathing.”

“Nothing else?”

Lily narrows her eyes at him. “No. Why?”

“You know what I hear? I hear Magnus and Maia talking in the other room. About Greece. I hear their heartbeats. Maia’s is faster than Magnus’.”

“Okay,” Lily draws out. “So, my hearing hasn’t healed yet. It’ll come back.”

“And what do you smell?” Raphael continues.

“Raphael, this is a waste of time. I just want to see if M – ”

“Answer the question, Lily,” he demands. Lily can feel herself being forced into submission, just like she always does when her clan leader gives her a direct order.

“Okay, fine,” she says. “I smell air freshener. The smell of freshly washed sheets.”

Raphael looks away, jaw clenched.

“What do you smell?” Lily asks when it appears that Raphael won’t be continuing his interrogation.

“I smell Maia’s blood. She injured herself while carrying you here, nothing too serious but deep enough to bleed. Magnus ordered takeout, I smell that too. And the air freshener. And the sheets. And Magnus’ new cologne.”

“Raphael, I don’t understand what you’re implying. So my hearing and scent have weakened. But they’ll come back, right?”

Raphael shakes his head. “Do you really not understand? Lily, feel your pulse. You have a heartbeat. You’re breathing.”

Lily frowns. She knew she was breathing, but a heartbeat? That’s impossible. But still, because Raphael looks so worried, she puts two fingers on her pulse point and waits until she feels something.

When she does, she jerks her hand back as if she’s been burned.

“ _What_?” She shrieks. “How – what – how is this _possible_? Why is my heart beating?”

“I don’t know,” Raphael shakes his head. “Maia says the magic was meant for her, but you jumped in front of its path. Maybe Iris’ magic would’ve killed a werewolf, but it just – it turned you – ”

“Human,” Lily finishes as realization dawns on her.

“We don’t know how it’s possible. Neither Magnus or I have ever seen anything like this.”

“But – am I – am I _fully_ human again? Blood pumping, heart beating, not-blood-craving-human? Wait – ” her hands shoot to her face “ – how do I look? Did I age? Am I about to crumble into dust?”

Raphael smiles. “No, you look just fine. It’s weird seeing you with color on your cheeks, but I think it suits you.”

Lily smiles back, but then her face falls. “This is gonna… _change_ things. I won’t be able to live in the Dumort anymore. It’ll be too tempting. And food, and the sunlight, and the sleeping schedule, and – ”

Raphael shoots up a hand to curl around her wrist to stop her from rambling. His fingers are cold against her warm skin, and for the first time since she knows him, she sees Raphael as something different than her.

“We’ll figure it out, okay? This must all come to a shock to you, so how about you just come to the living room with me, talk to Maia and maybe Magnus can find some answers.”

Lily nods. “Yeah,” she says. “That sounds like a plan.”

She stands, but is immediately overwhelmed by sudden dizziness. Luckily, Raphael’s fast vampire senses prevent her from falling.

“I got you,” he says, and Lily knows he does.

He always will.

*

They spend the rest of the night going through several Warlock books, looking for anything resembling Lily’s current situation. Magnus calls around, looking for a Warlock who has dealt with a vampirism reversal before, but this is a first to everyone. Not even the oldest Warlock Magnus can reach has ever heard of a successful de-turning.

Everyone is exhausted by the end of the night. Raphael is grumpy because he hasn’t fed in a while, but when Lily tells him he can go home if he wants to, he shakes his head.

“I’m not going anywhere until we figure this out,” he insists.

“Hey,” Lily says, kneeling where Raphael is sitting on the floor, surrounded by ancient books. “It’s okay, Rafa. I feel fine. Sure, it’s been a while since I’ve had a heartbeat, but I don’t feel any different. You should go home. Get some blood, go to bed.”

“I don’t want to leave you alone right now, Lily. What if something happens to you?”

Lily scoffs. “Like what, I accidentally give myself a paper cut? Honestly, Raphael, I can take care of myself. And besides, I won’t be alone. Magnus’ll be there, and so will Maia. You just get some rest, okay? We’ll continue looking for answers tomorrow night.”

Raphael clenches his jaw, then nods. “You’re probably right,” he admits.

Lily grins. “I’m always right.”

Raphael rolls his eyes at her as he stands. He gives her a quick kiss on her forehead before stepping over the pile of books he had surrounded himself with and making his way to the front door.

“Call me if you need anything.”

“Raphael…”

“Just call, alright? For anything.”

Lily sighs. Raphael is always so worried about her. She doesn’t understand why, considering that she’s the second most capable vampire in the clan and probably the smartest, but she isn’t complaining. Not really. Despite her being older than him, having Raphael around almost makes her feel like having an older brother to rely on.

“Fine, I’ll call. Now go, before the sun rises.”

Raphael nods and calls out a goodbye to Magnus, who had briefly fallen asleep on top of an important-looking scroll. Then he opens the door and disappears into the hallway.

Lily listens if she can hear him exit the building before realizing her hearing isn’t as advanced as it once was. Then she exhales deeply and plops down next to Maia, who had fallen asleep an hour ago.

*

You forget a lot about your human life as a vampire, especially when you’ve been one for almost a century. Lily forgot what sushi tasted like, how it felt to be cold, what it was like to be sick. But some things you never forget, no matter how old you are.

Just like humans never forget the pain of getting burned by fire, vampires never forget what’s it like to have sunlight touch their skin.

So, when Lily feels warmth on her hand, she’s immediately awake.

“Fuck!” She shrieks when she sees there’s some sunlight streaming through Magnus’ curtains. She jumps out of its reach and crouches behind the couch, checking for injuries or blisters.

Maia peeks her head over the edge of the couch, her eyebrows raised.

“What are you doing?” She asks.

“The sun!” Lily hisses. “Close the curtains!”

Maia tilts her head. “Lily, you’re human now. The sun won’t hurt you.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Okay then,” Maia says, jerking her chin to Lily’s hand. “Check your hand. If you’d still react to sunlight like you did when you were a vampire, your skin would be burned. Is it?”

Lily looks down to her hand, turning it to see if she’s burned anywhere. But there’s nothing there.

“See? You’re fine. Come on.” Maia reaches out her hand for Lily to take and pulls her from behind the couch, guiding her to the beam of sunlight shining into the room.

“Look, it’s harmless,” Maia insists, moving her own hand through the beam. Her dark skin turns golden in the early morning light. “You try it.”

“No,” Lily shakes her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Why not?”

“Because it’ll burn me!”

“It won’t, Lily. Trust me. Just give me your hand, okay? If it hurts, we can stop.”

Lily looks at Maia’s extended hand, balls her own hand into a fist before relaxing her fingers.

“Trust me,” Maia says again.

“Okay, okay,” Lily gives in. She takes Maia’s hand and squeezes it tightly. Maia smiles.

“What?” Lily asks.

“Nothing,” Maia shrugs. “Your hand just feels – _different_. Warm. It’s nice.”

Lily glares at her and almost pulls back, but Maia intertwines their fingers before she can. Then she slowly moves towards the sunlight, allowing Lily to get used to it, before exposing her skin to it completely.

The sunlight is warm, but it isn’t burning. Lily looks at her own skin, how pale it is, waiting for blisters to appear. But they don’t.

“See!” Maia exclaims excitedly. “You’re fine! Isn’t this nice?”

Lily lets go off Maia’s hand and moves her fingers through the light, watching how it dances on her skin. She takes a step closer, and then another one and another one, until her entire body is bathing in sunlight.

“This – ” she starts, voice trembling “ – this is… amazing.”

Maia grins. “I know something even better.”

Lily looks up from her hand to look at Maia instead. “Oh?”

Maia nods and pulls Lily out of the sunlight, through the living room to the front door.

“Come on,” she says. “You’ll love this.”

She guides her down the flight of stairs and through the main door. Lily freezes in the shadows of Magnus’ building and stares at the street in front of her, bathing in sunlight.

“Come on, Lils!” Maia encourages her. “You saw for yourself that sunlight can’t hurt you anymore.”

“I know, I know. It’s just – I don’t know. Vampire instinct.”

Maia’s expression softens. “You can do this. It’s just one step. Who knows how long you’ll stay human, Lily. This might be your only chance to walk in the sun.”

Lily nods. “You’re right. Of course you are.”

She takes a deep breath, reaches for Maia’s hand and then takes a small step forward. Maia squeezes her hand as she takes another step, feeling the warmth of the sun on her exposed ankle.

And then, suddenly, Lily is standing in full sunlight for the first time in almost a century. Some vampires miss the sun like a lost lover when they Turn, but Lily never really struggled with it. She only realizes how much she actually missed it when she notices hot tears streaming down her face.

“Oh, honey,” Maia whispers when she notices too. She pulls Lily in a warm hug, and Lily clings onto the back of Maia’s shirt as she sobs.

Maia holds her like this till all her tears run dry and way after that.

 

2.

Once Lily has gotten used to walking in the sun, she has to get used to other Mundane stuff too. Maia tries to make her eat something, but whenever she puts a plate in front of her face, Lily feels like throwing up.

“I’m sorry,” she says when Maia sighs and throws away the stir fry she made for her. “I’m conditioned to see Mundane food as something disgusting. I always used to throw it up when I was a vampire.”

“You’ll have to eat something eventually, Lils. Mundanes can’t go weeks without food like trained vampires can.”

“I’ll get better. It just takes time.”

Maia looks at her and chews her lip, then smiles.

“I have an idea,” she proclaims. She turns around to the kitchen counter and starts rummaging around. Lily loses interest in whatever she’s preparing rather quickly and focuses back on the magazine she’d been reading.

Maia hums as she keeps herself busy in the kitchen. Lily uses it as background noise, smiling at Maia’s steady voice. They went to a karaoke bar once, where Maia showed her how good of a singer she really was.

“Tada!” Maia says proudly as she puts down a glass in front of Lily’s face.

“What’s this?” Lily wants to know.

“A strawberry smoothie! It’s liquid like blood, so it’s easier to get used to. It even looks a little bit like it.”

Lily holds up the light pink beverage. “This looks _nothing_ like blood,” she huffs.

Maia takes the glass from her and places it back in front of her face. “Just try it. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

Lily sighs. She doesn’t have anything to lose, does she? So she lifts the glass to her lips and takes a careful sip.

“And?” Maia asks, almost bouncing where she stands.

Lily shrugs. “Doesn’t make me throw up. So, not bad.”

“Nice!” Maia cheers. She takes a seat on the chair opposite of Lily and watches her as she drinks her smoothie.

“I was thinking we should go out to dinner,” she declares once Lily has finished the smoothie. “Something easy and nice. What used to be your favorite food when you were still human?”

“Sushi,” Lily replies without hesitation.

Maia smiles. “Cool. Let’s go out for sushi. My treat.”

Lily mimics Maia’s smile. “Okay,” she nods.

“Okay,” Maia grins.

*

It takes Lily a few tries, but eventually, she eats her first sushi roll in almost a century. Maia cheers encouragingly, causing the rest of the restaurant to look at them with varying expressions of annoyance on their faces. After the first sushi roll, it’s easy to get into it again. Lily realizes how much she’s missed this, missed _food_ , and by the end of the night, Maia has to stop her from eating herself sick.

They go to the movies afterwards. Maia pays for their tickets and buys them a big bucket of popcorn, even though they’re both full on sushi. Lily munches on some of it during the movie and takes the rest of it outside, eating it as they walk through Brooklyn.

It’s always easy to talk to Maia. Somehow, the fact that they’re natural enemies never stopped them from forming a deep friendship with each other. Simon introduced them to each other a few months ago, and they’ve been friends ever since. They share a lot of ideas about a lot of things, and Maia can always make her laugh.

“It’s been a pretty eventful day,” Maia says when they’re back at the Jade Wolf. Luke agreed to let her stay here for a while until Magnus sorted out the magic that de-turned her.

“Yeah,” Lily agrees. “I’m actually exhausted.”

“Come on, then,” Maia says. “We’ll have to share a bed. Hope that’s okay.”

 

3.

Turns out that a mundane sleeping schedule is a lot to get used to.

So is sleeping in a bed.

Lily keeps tossing and turning, trying to not wake Maia as she tries to get comfortable. She watches the minutes tick by, and no matter how much she tries, she just can’t fall asleep.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Maia sighs around three o’clock. “Are you ever going to sleep?”

“I don’t know,” Lily sighs. She turns on her side to face Maia, who’s glaring at her.

“I thought you were exhausted.”

“I am! But I’ve also been awake during the night for the last ninety years, so it’s hard to get used to your human sleeping schedule. Plus, I’m used to sleeping in a casket.”

Maia snickers. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. Vampires sleep in caskets, Maia.”

“That can’t possibly be comfortable.”

Lily pulls up her shoulder in a half-shrug. “You get used to it. We mostly do it for the aesthetic and by now a lot of us have converted to beds, but back when I was a fledgling, everyone still used to sleep in caskets. I never switched to a bed.”

Maia shakes her head. “I’ll never really get vampires,” she says. “You’re really the most dramatic species.”

“Uh, excuse me,” Lily counters, “have you _met_ Meliorn’s sister?”

“Willow?”

“Yeah. She’s the most dramatic person I know. Whenever she comes to visit, she _insists_ on calling upon her wind powers to blow open the main doors of the hotel upon her entrance. One time a man hit on her and she came to me, dramatically draping herself over a couch, sighing about how she was almost _assaulted_.”

“You’re lying.”

“I wish I was!”

“Oh my god,” Maia giggles. “To be fair, though, a man hitting on you _is_ pretty horrible.”

“Good point,” Lily agrees.

“It was so awkward when Simon started hitting on me. I thought we could be friends, but of course no man can ever be just friends with a woman without trying something with her.”

Lily makes a face. “I remember that. I couldn’t stand being in the same room with Raphael because he was in such a bad mood all the time.”

Maia shakes her head. “I still can’t believe he actually thought I would start something with Simon. Like, do I look like I’m into men? How offensive.”

“Well, at least Simon took it well when you told him you were gay.”

Maia laughs at the memory. “Oh yeah. He felt _bad_ for hitting on me. He kept apologizing for it and then tried to set me up with his Mundane friend Maureen to make up for it.”

“Did he succeed?”

Maia shrugs. “We went on one date, but we’re too different. She’s unaware about the Downworld, so it would only be hard to date her.”

“Have you had a lot of girlfriends?” Lily wonders. She’s never asked before, but she can’t help but be curious.

“I’ve had a few. I used to date this girl, Ashley, when I was in high school. We had to keep it a secret because she was still in the closet, but it was nice. And then a few hookups in my first year of college, before I got bit. And then – ” she averts her eyes before continuing “ – then Gretel.”

Lily bites her lip. She remembers the grief Maia had still carried with her when she first met her. Gretel has been dead for a year now, but you don’t forget losing someone you love. Lily knows out of personal experience.

Maia shakes herself out of it before she can spiral into more grief.

“What about you?” She asks.

“Not when I was still human. I never even thought about girls in that way before I Turned. And then, after Turning, a few. Some more serious than others. Some lasted for years, others for a few weeks. I generally didn’t really care about relationships, though.”

“Why not?”

“Well, when you’re under the reign of someone as cold and cruel as Camille, you have better things to do than think about relationships. Being part of her clan was more about surviving than anything else.”

“She’s gone now, though,” Maia reminds her.

Lily remembers the trial. She remembers watching Camille burn, remembers the pain in her chest at losing her former clan leader. The same pain all clan members felt, no matter how they felt about Camille.

“She is. And Raphael is a way better leader than she ever was. He’s young, and he often doubts himself, but he’s good.”

Maia smiles. “I know he is. The werewolves and vampires finally found peace under his reign.”

Lily hums, then stretches.

“Finally getting tired?” Maia asks, sounding way too hopeful.

“A bit,” Lily admits.

“Thank god. I’m _exhausted_ ,” Maia yawns.

Lily smiles. “Go to sleep,” she says.

“M’kay,” Maia says, already turning back onto her back. “Goodnight.”

Lily watches her profile, her cute nose and pretty curls.

“Goodnight,” she says.

 

+1.

Magnus tries to help Lily as best as he can, but he also still has a job to attend to, a club to run and a reputation to uphold. So, despite his best efforts, he has to excuse himself halfway through February as Valentine’s day nears, since he’s supposed to host one of the biggest parties of the year.

Lily doesn’t really mind. She’s quite enjoying herself as a Mundane, allowing Maia to drag her from place to place during the day and visiting the Dumort for a few hours every night. Raphael still has that look of worry whenever he looks at her, still treats this like a disease instead of a nice treat, but he manages a small smile whenever she enters his study and helps him work through a huge pile of whatever clan business he’s dealing with now. She does miss living in the hotel, being awake when her clan is and not having to constantly be alert because a hungry vamp might lose control near her.  

But Maia makes her miss her life just a bit less, and whenever she offers Lily one of her breathtaking smiles, she gets used to being human just a bit more.

Maia takes advantage of Lily being able to walk in the sun by planning an activity every single day, even if it’s just going out for coffee. Lily has become quite addicted to it in the few weeks she’s been mortal, and Maia usually watches her with a content grin when Lily sips from her beverage.

Today, however, Maia hasn’t planned anything. Lily pouts at her because she’d been looking forward to maybe going ice skating or window shopping, but Maia just plops down on the couch and declares that they’ll be busy inside today.

“Oh?” Lily says, not really knowing what they could be doing in Maia’s tiny room above the Jade Wolf the entire day.

“Well,” Maia shrugs, “we won’t just be doing nothing. But, since it’s Valentine’s Day today, I figured we could just stay in and watch a gross hetero romantic comedy that’ll make us sick and then a horror movie to make us feel better and _then_ we could get dressed up and go to Magnus’ party? I mean, if you want to.”

Lily presses her lips into a thin line in order not to grin.

“That sounds pretty gay,” she giggles.

Maia glares at her and punches her on the arm. “We _are_ gay, you donut.”

“Good point,” Lily admits. “And that also sounds like a decent way to spend the day. Snacks?”

“Downstairs. Anything but chocolate.”

“I know. It makes you sick.”

Maia groans miserably. “It does,” she whines. Lily chuckles and gets up, getting downstairs to get some snacks.

She runs into Luke and Alaric, who are baking something in the kitchen. Alaric laughs at something Luke said and stretches his neck to peck him on the lips before focusing back on the dough he’s rolling, and Luke laughs softly.

“Got any plans for today?” Lily asks as she raids the cupboards and fridge.

Luke looks up from the dough, a white smear of flour on his cheek.

“We’re going to Magnus’ party later. Other than that, just the usual, I guess. You’re Raphael’s second in command; you know what it’s like to be the boss.”

Lily hums. “It never stops,” she says.

Luke nods, but Alaric looks up too and frowns.

“Not today, Garroway. I asked Violet to look after the pack today so we can go out.”

Luke looks at his significant other, a smile tugging at his lips. It’s so intimate Lily feels the need to turn away. She quickly gathers all the food she can carry and makes her way back upstairs.

“Your dad and his boyfriend are smooching in the kitchen,” she announces once she’s back in Maia’s room. Maia has made herself comfortable on her bed, surrounded by pillows, and Lily’s eyes linger on her exposed skin where her shirt had crept up.

Maia doesn’t even look up from her laptop as she mutters: “He’s not my dad.”

“Come on, he kind of is. Which would make Clary your sister.”

Maia laughs. “I’d prefer to not see her as a sister. It would be weird to find her hot if I did.”

Lily raises an eyebrow. “You got a crush on her?” She questions. She doesn’t know why her heart starts hammering in her chest as she anticipates the answer.

“Ew, no. She’s a Shadowhunter. I have _standards_. I can just admire beauty when I see it.”

That makes Lily laugh. She drops all the snacks on Maia’s bed and then crawls in too, scooting over until she can comfortably watch the movie. Then she looks up at Maia.

“So, what disgustingly hetero mess are we watching?”

“Oh, I was thinking about a movie with two white leads, awfully heterosexual, with no chemistry whatsoever.”

“That just sounds like every romantic comedy ever made.”

“Okay, it also has some weird sex that apparently turns straight people on.”

Lily groans.

“You’re _not_ gonna make me watch Fifty Shades Of Grey.”

Maia grins as she opens the tab and presses play.

“Oh, but I am,” she says as the opening credits start, “and you’re going to suffer.”

*

They watch Blair Witch afterwards, which puts both of them in a slightly better mood. They munch on junk food and give occasional commentary and Maia even tries to scare Lily a few times, but she’s very hard to startle. One time Lily pretends to jump just to make Maia happy, and her cheerful giggle is totally worth it.

Maia wears a suit to Magnus’ party. Lily gets weak knees when she sees her in it, but she clears her throat and walks past her into the bathroom to get changed into her long, red dress. She puts her hair up with pins and puts on some dark red lipstick, almost the color of blood. It reminds her of her vampire days, but she shakes the sudden sadness she feels at the memory.

It’s dark when they make their way to Magnus’ loft. Lily immediately feels more relaxed, more at home in the fresh night air. Despite sunlight no longer being a danger to her life, she still feels safer in darkness.

Maia chatters away on their walk to the party, about anything and everything. When they met, Maia was a bit wary of her. She kept a certain distance between them, not really allowing Lily to get to know her. But that wariness quickly fell away and allowed Lily to get to know the real Maia. The Maia who waited in line for hours to be the first one to go see Rogue One, the Maia who collected comic books and old movies, the Maia who liked bright flowers and soft music. The Maia who likes dressing up to go to parties.

“I’ve never been to one of Magnus’ parties before,” Maia says as they walk the streets.

“Oh, they’re _legendary_ ,” Lily grins. “Magnus always goes overboard with Valentine’s day. Strippers, cages, sex booths, free condoms, a BDSM-room, cocktails named after sex positions, … my personal favorites are his Halloween parties, but his Valentine’s parties are a great second.”

“Wait – _sex booths_?”

“What, as if that’s weird?” Lily teases. “Can’t handle sex, you innocent little werewolf?”

Maia nudges her with her shoulder.

“Shut up,” she says.

Lily pokes her cheek. “Aw, you’re blushing!”

“This is bullying!” Maia exclaims. She swats her hand away and gives her a half-hearted shove. Lily just laughs.

They arrive not much later. Maia seems tense, as if she’s fully expecting one of Magnus’ personal sex slaves to lure her into a bedroom, but she exhales in relief once she enters the loft.

Magnus went for the classy approach this year. There are pink drapes hanging from the windows, a big buffet with typical Valentine’s food like strawberries and chocolate, champagne and more, a DJ playing cheesy love songs in the corner and a huge ice sculpture of Cupid as the centerpiece of the room.

“No sex booths?” Maia asks.

“You almost sound disappointed.”

Maia looks at her, then winks.

“Maybe I am,” she grins daringly.

Lily doesn’t know how to react to that, so she just makes her way through the room to greet Magnus.

She finds him chatting with Raphael, who’s wearing a red suit and a just as red mark on his neck. Lily wordlessly raises an eyebrow at him, but Raphael just jerks his head towards Simon as an explanation.

It’s no secret that they both like it rough, but Raphael never allowed Simon to visibly mark him before. Maybe it was his Valentine’s present to him this year.

Lily says hi to Magnus, who’s wearing bright make-up with lots of glitter and a long, silver gown. He’s beaming, which can only mean he got some great sex before the party too. Lily only briefly wishes she could say the same before pushing the thought out of her head.

Maia comes to say hi too, even going as far as embracing Raphael. He doesn’t allow a lot of people to touch him like that, and the fact that Maia got that privilege in just a few months tells a lot about her friendship with Raphael. They had quickly formed an unusual bond, using their mutual love for Simon as a starting point.

Maia drags Lily to the buffet after they said hi to everyone, stuffing her face with strawberries (without the chocolate). She even feeds Lily some, which probably doesn’t have a lowkey sensual undertone to her but it does to Lily.

“Let’s dance,” Maia says when she’s eaten enough strawberries to feed a small army. Her lips are red and kissable, but Lily tries to not stare at them and instead forces her eyes to meet Maia’s.

“You know I don’t really dance.”

Maia rolls her eyes. “Oh, come on. It’s Valentine’s day! Have some fun!”

Lily chews her lips in thought, briefly letting her eyes wander over Maia’s body before snapping them back up.

“Okay. But as soon as I feel like I’m making a fool out of myself, I’m stopping.”

Maia shrugs. “Fair enough.”

She takes her to the dance floor, where Maia places her hands on Lily’s sides and pulls her closer. Lily feels her cheeks heat up, which had never been a problem when she was a vampire, and she’s painfully aware of her heart hammering in her chest and how Maia and all the Downworlders with advanced hearing in the room can probably hear it. But she’s past the point of being able to control her feelings, so she just puts her hands on Maia’s hips and goes with it.

*

Magnus’ party goes on for the entire night. By the time the sun is rising, some Warlocks have created some booths for people to nap in (and definitely _not_ have sex in, since they’re all randomly put in the room with no privacy whatsoever). Only the most die-hard party-goers are still dancing. They’re mostly Seelies and Warlocks, the two species known most for their iconic parties, but some brave vampires are still going strong too.

Maia got tired around 4am, but she refused to leave and instead settled in a booth and pulled Lily with her. She almost fell asleep multiple times while talking, which was the absolute cutest thing ever, but she fought her exhaustion like a real pro.

Sunrise seems to energize her again. She stands and asks Lily to join her on the balcony. Lily isn’t really sure why, but she takes her hand and lets herself be guided outside anyway.

The sun is rising above the skyline of New York, casting an orange glow over Magnus’ balcony. Lily can’t help but bask in it, still fighting her vampire instincts after weeks of being human to just feel the sun on her skin without being in danger. Maia watches her for a while, placing her hand on the balcony, right next to Lily’s.

“I had a lot of fun,” Maia says after a while.

Lily smiles at her. “Yeah, me too. And I didn’t make a fool out of myself, surprisingly!”

Maia’s expression softens. It does funny things to Lily’s stomach.

“You never make a fool out of yourself.”

Lily scoffs. “I beg to differ.”

Maia moves her finger closer to Lily’s, until their fingertips are touching.

“Hey, so, you know how I taught you how to be human these last couple of weeks?” She asks.

Lily nods.

“Well, before you de-turned, you taught me how to be a Downworlder.”

“Oh, did I?” Lily wonders, an amused smile on her lips. She doesn’t miss how Maia flicks her eyes to her mouth for just a second.

“Yes, you did. You see, you taught me that Downworlders know what they want and go for it. So, I know what I want. And I’m going for it.”

Before Lily can fully process what this means, she feels the sudden pressure of Maia’s lips against hers. Maia intertwines their fingers as she kisses Lily, and Lily’s eyes flutter shut. She relaxes into the kiss, lifting her other hand to tangle in Maia’s hair, and is about to allow her to deepen it when a burning pain spreads from her hand to her arm and shoulder.

Lily pulls back with a gasp, then a hiss when she recognizes the pain.

“Lily?” Maia asks, a bit of hurt sounding through her voice.

“I – I need to get inside,” Lily stutters.

“What?”

Lily looks at her hand, the one bathing in sunlight, and watches blisters appear on it. The blisters quickly spread to her forearm and elbow, creeping up further and further.

“I need to get inside!” She shrieks, panic screwing her throat shut. She stumbles against Maia, her human reflexes slow and clumsy, and falls against the glass door leading back inside. The panic is in her head now, drowning out all other thoughts. She can’t think about anything else but escaping the sun, but her mind can’t calm down long enough for her to actually find a way to get back inside.

She can smell her own flesh burning. Can hear it sizzling. She presses herself against the glass door even more, as if trying to disappear into it, before someone jerks it open from inside and pulls her in, into the shade.

Lily collapses against a solid form. She recognizes his scent, notices the suit he’s wearing is red.

“Raphael,” she breathes, shaky.

“Ssh, it’s okay,” he comforts her, pulling her against his chest as he sits down on the floor. “You’re inside, you’re safe.”

“Wh – what happened?” She asks, feeling dazed and exhausted. She can feel her skin slowly starting to heal itself, but the blisters still sting.

“I’m not sure,” Magnus says. He kneels next to her to check her vitals and frowns. “You have no heartbeat, Lily. You seem to be back to normal.”

“Wait – so, I’m a vampire again? But – but how? How is that possible?”

Magnus looks from her to Maia and back.

“What were you two doing on the balcony?” He questions.

Maia answers before Lily can. “We were just – just talking. And then I… I kissed her, and before I knew it she was screaming and panicking and I didn’t know what to do. I’m so sorry, Lily. I just… I just froze.”

“It’s fine,” Lily assures her. “I didn’t die. But I still don’t understand what triggered the vampirism again.”

Magnus chews his lip, then snaps his fingers. “Iris, that twisted bitch. Of course she had to give a dramatic spin to the curse.”

“Curse?” Raphael echoes.

“Yes, if something inflicted by a Warlock is curable by a kiss, we see it as a curse. She put a curse on you, Lily. And it seems like Maia’s kiss has broken it.”

Lily narrows her eyes at Magnus, then looks at Maia. She seems just as startled as Lily feels.

“Like a true love’s kiss?” She wonders.

Magnus shrugs. “True love’s kiss, true might-someday-be-love’s kiss. I don’t want to put any pressure on you. Point is that you’re a vampire again, so please don’t take any strolls in the sun anymore.”

“Trust me, I won’t,” Lily sighs. She pushes herself up after squeezing Raphael’s hand and faces Maia, who seems to be a bit lost.

“Maia, that kiss… I – I need to know... Was that because – because I was human?”

Maia frowns.

“What do you mean?”

Lily exhales shakily. “I mean… did you only kiss me because I was human? Because I was… _normal_?”

“What? No! No, of course not, Lils. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time now. I just never knew if you felt the same when you were a vampire, so I used your de-turning to find out how you felt about me. And when I saw you blushing and heard your heart hammer in your chest last night… I knew you felt for me what I feel for you.”

“So you still – you still want me?”

Maia lifts her hands to cup Lily’s cheeks, pulling her closer until their foreheads are almost touching.

“Of course I still want you, you silly vampire.”

Lily smiles. “Well, good. Because you’re not getting rid of me, you stupid werewolf.”

Maia full on laughs now, sliding her hands from Lily’s cheeks to her hips. She presses her smile to her forehead, then her nose, and then finally her lips.

Kissing Maia already feels different. They’d been the same temperature just minutes before, but now Maia is way warmer than Lily is.

And she figures that, if she can’t have the sun’s warmth, she’ll gladly settle with Maia’s instead.

 


End file.
